


Pity to the Waves

by Takenatmidnight



Category: Original Work
Genre: Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:15:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25856506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takenatmidnight/pseuds/Takenatmidnight
Summary: When Lara's crew captures a mercreature, she has a moral decision to make. (yes I know it's a basic summary don't @ me)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Woahhh new original story? Whaaaat!? yeah i started this as a writing project and I actually really like it so here you go lmao. It's about pirates and mermaids and stuff. Enjoy

Lara couldn’t look. She couldn’t bear to look at the scene unfolding before her. She stayed behind, hunched against the back wall as her crewmates rushed around the deck. Men threw around shouts and orders. She paid no attention. At least, until her name - well, her alias - was called.  
“Timmy! Git yer worthless ass over here!” Shouted Morris, the quartermaster of the ship. He glared at her with his one working eye; the other had a greyish scar drawn across it, and the pupil was faded and white. She scrambled over, waiting for instruction.  
Even up close, she couldn’t bring herself to look at it. She hated the way it writhed and shrieked, clawing against the coarse net it was held in. She hated the way it looked and sounded nearly human. Especially how it’s jet-black eyes rimmed with yellow darted around frantically, defensive and scared.  
“Go unlock the tank and lift the top up,” Morris barked. Lara nodded, darting towards the door leading below deck. She hesitated, glancing back towards the creature. For a short moment they locked eyes. Lara felt a chill run down her spine and swiftly turned her back to rush down into the gun deck. From there she went down into the hold and pushed open the door to a small back room. Inside was a large tank, big enough to hold a great white shark. Pulling a small wooden stool over, she placed it next to the tank and climbed up hastily. On top laid a crosshatch of wide iron bars. Retrieving the silver key from a peg on the wall, she slid it into a rusted lock at the side of the hatch, and it clicked open. She struggled to push the hatch up. It must have weighed at least her own weight, if not more. Putting all her strength into it (which wasn’t much), she finally hauled it open to lean against the back wall.  
Hearing a chorus of steps down the wooden stairs, she retired to a corner of the room. A moment later five men holding a still-struggling load barged in. Untying the net, they quickly dumped it into the tank before it had a chance to escape. As soon as it splashed into the tank, Morris slammed the hatch shut.  
“Keys,” He growled, and Lara took a step forward to hand him the keyring before retreating back to her corner. Morris relocked the tank, stepping back to review his work.  
“Well, boys, this is it. Our new fortune, right in front of us,” He announced proudly.  
“Doesn’t look like much of a fortune,” One man chuckled, and the rest chortled along with him.  
“That’s true,” Morris replied, “But once we get this thing back to Port City, we’ll be swimming in gold.”  
Lara felt a sick feeling rising in her gut. She hated how they looked at it with such malicious pride, like it was just another one of their big fish catches. Like they didn’t even see it as human. Admittedly, it wasn’t, but plenty of things about it was. Its slender, humanoid frame, pacing - well, swimming - around the small confinement. Its long, silvery hair, flowing around it. The way its nails scraped against the glass as it desperately tried to claw its way out. The sick feeling only grew the longer she looked at it. She averted her gaze to the wooden floorboards.  
Eventually the crewman left back to the main deck, laughing about their soon-to-be riches. Lara slipped out of the room behind them. The entire crew was on break for the rest of the evening to celebrate, so she retreated to her minuscule cabin.  
She sighed along with the creaking of the door as she pushed it open. Her bed was cold and stiff when she flopped down. She didn’t like all the thoughts bubbling to the surface of her mind. Instead, she got up and pulled out the tiny silver mirror she kept in the chest at the foot of her bed. It was the only thing she had ever managed to steal for herself in all her time at sea. It most likely belonged to a noblewoman, staying on the royal ship they attacked months ago. The intricate carvings swirled around a single, strikingly blue sapphire, embedded at the meeting point of handle and body. She kept it safe and hidden in the chest, because she knew that if the others ever got their hands on it, they wouldn’t hesitate to sell it at the nearest trading port. It was nice to have something for herself on this miserable ship.  
She gazed into the mirror, tugging at her itchy woolen shirt and taking a moment to readjust the red bandana holding her mess of brown hair down. The staff at the orphanage always said she was such a pretty girl, with her long curls and pale skin. Now her curls were gone, and her skin was constantly mottled with dirt and grime. The orphanage didn’t last, either.  
Sighing, she returned the mirror to the chest and laid back down on her bed. The sun was barely finished setting, but she was weary all the same.  
Sounds of celebration up on deck carried on through the sunset and into the beginning of twilight. Lara drowned them out the best she could, staring somberly out of the round porthole out at the ocean. The dark, choppy water blended in with the early night sky. It was nearly the same shade of blue, speckled by white stars. The moon was barely a new sliver in the sky. She tried to remember all the constellations she had been taught about and find them, but none came. The uncomfortable thoughts still swirled around her mind. She pushed them out once more, trying to focus on rest. The moon rose ever higher.

**************************

Lara couldn’t sleep. Not even a wink. The crewmen had finished their fiesta and retired to their cabins, but that didn’t help. Slumber never came to whisk her away. She just couldn’t sleep with the knowledge of what was below deck.  
She sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed. Her mind was running wild now, debating and worrying and considering. She got up, yanking open the chest. She found a box of matches, taking one out and lighting it. She used it to flame the candle on her nightstand, then opened the door as quietly as she could, and hastened down the hall. She was quick and light on her feet, weaving through the halls of the gun deck. As cautiously as possible, she creaked open the hatch just enough for her to slip her slender body through, then eased it shut above her. It didn’t take much time to reach the back room.  
Thin beams of moonlight and the soft flicker of the candle were the only illuminations as she opened the wooden door. The creature’s head immediately jolted upon noticing her enter. It bared its sharp teeth at her aggressively.  
“Shh,” Lara shushed as she tiptoed over to the tank. The keys jangled as she removed them from their peg on the wall. The creature noticed, eyes flickering to her hand, and looked at her with cautious intrigue. It watched as she placed the stool gently and climbed up, unlocking the hatch.  
This was the tricky part. Lara tried to quiet her huffs as she struggled to lift the heavy iron hatch quietly. To her surprise, a slick, turquoise-colored webbed hand reached up out of the water to help push it open. With the help she managed to heave it up and leaned it against the wall.  
She looked down at the creature. It stared up at her with wide, dark eyes, watching every small movement. Lara stepped down from the stool and took a step back. Slowly, it reached a webbed hand over the side of the tank, then two, and pulled itself up. She tried to help it out of the water, but it had no trouble slipping out by itself, landing with a wet thud on the floorboards.  
“Shh!” Lara repeated, putting a finger to her lips for emphasis. “Please be quiet. If we get caught, we’re both dead.”  
It just stared up at her with those dark eyes. She carefully approached it, kneeling down to its level.  
“I know you can’t walk, so I’m going to have to carry you.” She didn’t know if it could understand anything she said, but by the way it lifted its arms up when she slid her own under its body, it seemed so. With a grunt, she got her feet under herself and pushed up from the floor. She was a little wobbly at first - the creature was fairly heavy - but she straightened out.  
The creature was surprisingly compliant as she carried it up the stairs, and it even helped her push up the hatch to the gun deck again, albeit this one was wooden and much lighter. It didn’t make a peep as she swiftly stealthed through the hallways and up the next flight of stairs.  
Lara paused at the entrance to the main deck. The moonlight lit the large area, and she could see no-one was there. Still, she was scared. But she knew she couldn’t stop now. She had to just go for it. Adrenaline rushing through her veins, she strode over to the closest stretch of railing. She held the creature out gingerly, not knowing whether to just drop it.  
She didn’t have to think for long, because the creature turned its head to her.  
“Thank you,” it said in a soft, almost ethereal voice. Before she had time to respond it jumped out of her arms, landing with a splash in the dark water. Lara stared down at the waves for a moment before realizing she was exposed and darting back towards the entrance.  
She was able to scamper back to her room covertly, shutting the door and dropping onto her bed with a sigh. Energy still pulsed through her body, but she buried her face into her pillow, trying to grab any shards of sleep she could get before tomorrow came. Even as she slowly drifted off, she couldn’t help but wonder about the creature. She dreaded what would come of tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2!! This is only a 2-part story but I hope you enjoy!!

“What do you mean it’s fucking missing?!”  
Lara was scruched in her familiar position against the wall as Morris, the quartermaster, screamed at the other crewmembers. She prayed to whatever lord existed that he wouldn’t notice her. Of course, she had seen him angry before - angry was one of his main moods, along with cruel and greedy (if you call that a mood) - but never like this. He was livid. His face was hot iron-red as he jabbed a finger at a deckhand so hard Lara thought he might stab him with it. The poor deckhand was shaking in his boots.  
“I-I swear, I have no idea what happened, sir! I had n-nothing to do with this!”  
“Like hell!” Morris spat at a ridiculously high volume. “If someone on this goddamned ship doesn’t give me some fucking answers, I might as well throw all of you fucking overboard!”  
The men murmured amongst themselves, but no one came forward. They could see Morris getting angrier by the second.  
“If it ‘elps, sir,” Called a voice from the back of the crowd. Cook Landry stepped forward. Landry was a weasely man in more ways than one; his figure was tall and lanky, despite the fact he spent most of the day in the kitchen, and he was always the first to speak up when the word “overboard” was mentioned. “I could’ve sworn I saw someone sneakin’ round the deck last night.”  
As he said that his eyes darted towards Lara with a particular glint, and she knew she was dead. He didn’t say anything further, though. He was happy to watch the chaos that ensued.  
Morris was overcome with a new wave of rage, screaming at every crewmember about their whereabouts last night. Again, everyone denied doing anything.  
He spent quite a while yelling at Fox, the lookout. He wasn’t at the small festival last night; they never let him come down from the crow’s nest. He was still slightly tinged about that.  
“I was up in the crow’s nest, sir,” He groaned, “I couldn’t’ve let it out.”  
That was what they were all referring to. The creature they had encaptured last night. Morris had gone ballistic as soon as he found it it was gone. That was part of why Lara was so scared - she knew damn well she did it, and she was an easy target, too.  
Her fears became reality as soon as Fox said “Well I don’t know why you’re yelling at me, sir. Timmy has been awfully quiet.”  
Lara’s stomach dropped as Morris swiveled towards her. His feet were like weights hitting the deck with every step. He towered over her, and she wished with all her heart that she could just sink into the wall.  
“The good-for-nothing cunt makes a good point,” He growled at her.  
“I-I didn’t do it,” She blurted out. He gave her an icy look with his one working eye.  
“You were the only one not on the deck last night,” He interrogated, to which Fox frowned. “You could very damn well have done it.”  
“I didn’t! I can’t- I can barely open the hatch!”  
One sweep over her small, frail frame made that obvious. Morris still wasn’t deterred. He grabbed her by the collar so hard her feet lifted off the floor.  
“I swear to Davy Jones, if I find out you had any part in this-”  
“Cap’n!” Came an urgent voice from across the deck. Morris growled and dropped her, striding over to the source of the noise. Lara rubbed her chest as she watched. One of the crewmembers - a large, round man, might be the carpenter - stood next to Neville, the master navigator and, more recently, meteorologist. Lara was surprised to see him standing on the deck. He rarely ever left his chambers at the back of the ship. He was one of the only, if not the only man on this ship that looked decent. He always wore a bright blue coat, lined with gold detailing (she didn’t know where he got that) and an outfit that looked almost like a royal navy officer. His dark brown hair was practically gray with the streaks running through it.   
“There’s a storm on the horizon, sir,” He said bluntly, handing Morris a telescope. He looked through it and grunted, presumably at what Lara could just make out to be the familiar gray clouds signaling the beginning of a storm far in the distance.   
“When’ll it be here?”  
“Approximately an hour.”  
Morris cursed under his breath. “Fine. We’ll lower the sails soon.”  
“It looks like a big one, sir. I’d recommend taking a bit more precautions than we usually do.”  
“I’ll choose my damn precautions.” He thrusted the telescope back to Neville, retreating through the doors that led to the Captain’s cabin and throwing Lara an icy glare as he did. She felt safer knowing he would be in there for a while. Meetings with the Captain were never short.  
Neville sighed and followed his coworker. Slowly the rest of the crewmates dispersed, going back to their positions on deck. Lara sighed. She was off the hook… for now.

***************

Lara was going to be sick.  
She already had been, once - right over the side of the boat - then retreated back to her cabin. Giant, sharp waves crashed into the boat, rocking it back and forth wildly. Rain pelted against the porthole. Everything that wasn’t bolted down or heavy slid back and forth across the tiny room. Lara was on her bed, hoping it wouldn’t slide, as she tucked her knees closer to her chest. Neville was right - this was one of the worst storms she’d seen since she boarded the ship.   
Suddenly the door swung open, and this time it wasn’t the storm’s doing. One of the crewmen barged in hastily. Lara barely had the chance to get a word out before he scooped up the wooden chest that sat at the foot of the bed.  
“Hey!” She shouted, jumping off her bed, “What do you think you’re doing with that?!”  
“Sorry, boy,” He replied, “Cap’n’s orders. Says we need’ta offload any ‘low priority cargo’.”  
“That doesn’t mean you can come in here and steal my shit!” She cried back, but he was out the door by the time she got the sentence out. She ran after him, nearly slipping from the layer of water covering the wooden floor. Catching up to him, she tried tugging at his sleeve, but he brushed her off aggressively and stepped up the stairs to the main deck. She slipped down the stairs, landing with a thud at the bottom. Getting up quickly, she hurried up the stairs as well. The man had stacked her trunk on a pile of miscellaneous objects that were being prepared to be thrown off the ship. Making a beeline for her chest, she lunged for it - and it was snatched out of the pile.  
Morris, holding the chest, shouted orders at the crew over the roar of wind and spray of saltwater; something about a hole on the gun deck (that must have been what all the water was about). He barely gave her a cold passing glance as he strode to the railing.   
Arms raised, he stopped when she grabbed onto his arm. “No!”  
“Get off me!” He growled at her, trying to shake the tiny hands off. She tightened her grip. “Please, sir! It’s all I have!”  
“You won’t fucking have anything if we die on this goddamn ship! Now get off before I throw you overboard!”  
Still Lara clung to his arm, trying her very best to stop him from throwing her only possessions of value overboard. He finally snapped. Grabbing her hands, he threw her to the floor, then raised the chest.   
“NO!” Lara screamed again, but it was no use. Morris chucked it to the howling waves. She scrambled to her feet just in time to watch it disappear in a claw of foam and water. In a moment of blind, seething rage, she balled her hands into a fist and punched the man in the stomach as hard as she could. He barely recoiled, but the look on his face when he turned to her was enough to let Lara know she was officially dead.   
“Why you little, ungrateful bastard!” He screamed, clasping a hand around her arm tightly and lifting her entire body up. Lara squirmed and struggled, but it was no use. Her arm was already starting to lose feeling by how hard Morris was gripping it. She thought she heard Neville’s voice yell “Morris, for god’s sake, put the boy down!” under the sound of the wailing sea, but it fell on deaf ears. For a moment, she wondered if this was how the creature felt. Trapped, scared, helpless. Overpowered by beings stronger and more ruthless than it. Knowing there was a high chance it would die that way. She hoped it’s freedom was worth this.  
And then he threw her overboard.  
The last thing Lara knew was the shock rippling through her body as she hit the water. Freezing, ravenous waves swallowing her under. Gasping for air that wasn’t there. Dark turquoise view of the world slowly being replaced by black. And, strangely, something other than the waves pulling her deeper…

***************

The next thing Lara knew was warm sunshine and the need to vomit again. She rolled to the side of the platform she was on, hand on mouth, but stopped. The sight of her own face reflecting in the crystal blue water snapped her back to reality. Her hair was completely frazzled, and her clothes were still damp. At least it cleaned the grime off. She sat up, cringing as her headache pounded harder at the action. Looking around only added to the confusion. She was on the end of a long, wooden dock connected to a large marina. In the distance, ships of all sizes docked and sailed away, harbormen bustled around each other carrying crates and rolling barrels, and the sun hung over all, midway in the sky.   
Lara didn’t know how long she had been unconscious. It could be a day later, or even two or three. Her ship was nowhere in sight. Neither were any crewmen she knew. She supposed that was for the better. Sighing, she turned back and swung her legs over the side of the deck to gaze out over the sea. Her hand brushed up against something. Looking down at what it was, she was taken aback.   
The small handheld mirror that previously resided in her trunk laid on the deck beside her. It’s crystal surface was shattered, only a few jagged scars left to rim the frame. Other than that the details remained untarnished. Most surprising of all, the sapphire still laid embedded in the handle.   
Lara turned it over in her hands, admiring the detail as she had done so many times before. So it wasn’t all for nothing. At first she thought to thank the sea for returning it to her; the sea was a mysterious maiden, taking everything you had and giving it back either a moment or a lifetime later. She quickly realized that this wasn’t the sea’s doing. It hadn’t set the mirror so delicately next to her. She knew who it was.  
As gazed into the bright blue waters of the sea, she remembered something she had been taught years ago: Kindness is a circle. Give all you have and you will get everything in return, one way or another. She had never paid much attention to sayings like that, but now it had proved its worth. Lara muttered a smiling breath to the ocean. “Thank you.”


End file.
